Overview
Entrepreneurship Live at Maynooth University is an experiential learning program that integrates live business planning into academic curricula, offering a unique collaboration between undergraduate students and Vision Ireland, a national charity working to enable people who are blind and vision impaired to overcome barriers.
It brings together second-year undergraduate business students in teams to develop innovative business plans for Vision Ireland charity shops. This approach links academic theory with practical, real-world challenges, providing mutual benefits for both students and the charity.
Programme Details
Each team is tasked with proposing a new product, service, or business model for their assigned Vision Ireland shop. Students then develop a comprehensive business plan to outline and support their innovation, which can target new or existing audiences. Over a three-month period, students refine their business plans based on feedback from Vision Ireland representatives, lecturers, and their own implementation experiences. The final plans are submitted both to the academic team for grading and to Vision Ireland’s retail management for potential implementation.
Learning Outcomes & Impact
Students gain practical entrepreneurial experience, working through the stages of ideation, planning, and revision, all while receiving formative feedback. The challenge of developing real-world solutions gives students deeper insights into the complexities of business operations and social enterprise. Team-based learning is a core component, preparing students for the dynamics of the world of work.
The programme was developed in response to the need for a scalable, real-world assignment for a large module with over 300 students. It was also designed to inspire entrepreneurial thinking, even among those students not intending to start their own businesses. Vision Ireland saw an opportunity to innovate within their retail operations and engage with a younger demographic to bring fresh ideas to their charity shops.
Key Numbers
- 300+ students participate each year
- 30+ Vision Ireland shops involved
- 50% of the module’s assessment dedicated to this project